About The Food Blog, and Me
Welcome to The Food Blog. I'm Colleen and I'm so glad you stopped by. I hope that you’re here because you love delicious, simple, mostly healthy recipes. Because that’s what I do and I'm excited to share it with you!
My Culinary Experience
I have loved to cook since I had to stand on a stool to do it! The kitchen is one of my favourite places to be.
While I don't have formal culinary training, I more than make up for that with experience and skills in the kitchen. I've been cooking for decades. (Yes that really dates me.)
I've always loved to experiment, learn and try new things in the kitchen. If it can be made from scratch, (Homemade Peanut Butter Cups are easy!) I've made it, or plan to.
I've cooked in many kitchens, from a river barge to a tiny camper, to an oyster festival and the work camp kitchen of a coal mine.
I've always loved to travel and some of the most memorable moments of those travels have been centred around food.
I've gathered clams and turned them into chowder on the coast of Oregon,
I've eaten fresh sashimi at the Tokoyo Harbour, and Korean barbecue in a tiny restaurant outside of Seoul. In Reykjavic, we feasted on Icelandic fish & chips and enjoyed a smorgasbord in Stockholm.
I've taken cooking classes in Thailand and Mexico and learned to make traditional Finnish recipes in Finland. One of my favourite recipes, Coconut Red Beans & Rice, was handwritten for me on a piece of notepaper by a sweet lady who worked at our hotel in Negril, Jamaica.
What The Food Blog is All About
I started The Food Blog in 2012 as a creative outlet to combine my love of cooking and my efforts at photography.
From Scratch Cooking
"Real Food" is a term that you see on many a recipe blog, so I'm not going to use it. I'll just say that I prefer to cook and eat (mostly) what nature gives us, not what's made in a factory. Processed foods are convenient and sometimes even tasty. But food made from scratch with real, natural ingredients is far more delicious, and it's better for your health and wallet, and the planet.
Inclusive
My goal is for The Food Blog to be inclusive. Please check my Accessibility page to learn more about our efforts to make this website accessable to everyone.
Inclusive also means that I respect everyone's individual choices in how they want to enjoy delicious food. The recipes here are not specifically vegetarian, vegan, paleo, low carb, keto, or any other diet.
You won't have trouble finding any of those diet specifics here, though. Because the basis for most of those ways of eating, is, delicious, healthy, food. And that's exactly what The Food Blog is all about.
You will, however, find a lot of gluten-free recipes here. That's because, in 2017, I learned that I can't eat gluten. Since then, I've had to learn a completely new way of eating, and cooking. I'm still on that learning journey and excited to share it here.
Not Gadget Dependant
Being inclusive also means that you won't find any gadget dependant recipes here. I do love kitchen gadgets, but I know that you may not have a particular one. So if I post a "gadget recipe", like Air Fryer Asparagus Fries, it will have instructions to make them in the oven, too. And you don't need an ice cream maker to make Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream, I explain in the post how to make it without.
Simple
I'm also a big fan of simplicity. Cooking from scratch can seem hard and complicated. It isn't. A lot of people even find it fun. Cooking together is a great family activity. And the most delicious recipes are often the simplest ones. You'll find ingredients for recipes here on The Food Blog that you can find in your own kitchen, or at least in your regular grocery store. And you will be able to pronounce the names of them all. (Well, maybe not all, but I do tell you how. Can you say Muhammara?)
Some Fun Foodie Facts About Me
- My first summer job was in a bakery, where I learned how to knead dough, make pie crust and fill jelly donuts.
- I once owned and operated a food truck. Java Joe's was painted in the colours of the Italian flag and I served up gourmet coffee drinks, gelato and homebaked muffins, biscotti and other treats at festivals and events.
- I spent an entire year without a stove or oven and learned to cook gourmet meals on a gas grill in all weather.
- I've won more than one chilli cookoff, and many "recipe of the week" features on our local radio station.
Non Food Fun
My family is number one for me and when we are all together, it usually involves a lot of food and cooking. We love gathering around my kitchen island to nibble on Charcuterie and now that grandkiddos are in the picture, you'll be sure to see more kid friendly recipes, too.
When I'm not in the kitchen, I love being outdoors. Hiking, boating, camping and exploring with our all-terrain vehicle are favourite activities for my husband and me, and our dog Rosie.
And, as I mentioned, I love to travel!
Have Some Delicious Fun
When you get comfortable in the kitchen, you'll realize that recipes are really just guidelines. That's why I try to give substitution suggestions often. So, If you don't have a certain grain, seasoning, or veggie listed in the recipe? It's fine to use something else, almost always.
If you're just browsing or searching for something in particular, check out the Recipe Index.
I love hearing from you! So email me: [email protected] with your feedback, thoughts, questions or stories. Feel free to leave a question on a recipe post. I promise to get back to you promptly. And please, come join the community on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram, too!
I enjoy working with brands that I love and are a good fit mutually, so if you think that's you, please check out my Work With Me page!
Wishing you deliciousness every day,
Colleen